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Washington D.C. ranks first among the 40 cities with the widest gap between the poor and the rich, according to a recent report

admin2015-02-12  39
问题     Washington D.C. ranks first among the 40 cities with the widest gap between the poor and the rich, according to a recent report released by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute on July 22nd. The top 20 percent of households in D.C. have an average yearly income of $186,830, 31 times that of the bottom 20 percent, which earns only $6,126 per year.
    The report also indicates that the widening gap occurred mainly during the 1990s. Over the last decade, the average income of the top 20 percent of households has grown 36 percent, while the average income of the bottom 20 percent has only risen 3 percent.
    "I believe the concentration of the middle to high-income families in the D.C. area will continue, therefore, the income gap between rich and poor will be hard to bridge," David Garrison told the Washington Observer. Garrison is a senior researcher with the Brookings Institution, specializing in the study of the social and economic policies in the greater Washington D.C. area.
    The report attributed the persistent income gap in Washington to the area’s special job opportunities, which attract high-income households. Especially since the federal government is based in Washington D.C, Government agencies and other government related businesses such as lobbying firms and government contractors constantly offer high-paying jobs, which contribute to the trend of increasing high-income households in the D.C. area. For example, a single young professional working in a law firm in D.C. can earn as much as $100,000 in his or her first year out of law school.
    "In addition, high-quality housing available in Washington D.C. is one of the main reasons why high-income families choose to live here, while middle and low-income families, if they can afford it, choose to move out of Washington D.C. to the Virginia and Maryland suburbs so that their kids can go to better schools," stated Garrison.
    "As rich families continue to move into D.C. and middle and low-income families are moving out, the poorest families are left with nowhere to move, or cannot afford to move. This creates the situation we face now: a huge income gap between the rich and poor."
    Tony Blalock, the spokesperson for Mayor Anthony Williams, said resignedly, "No matter what we seem to do to bring investment into the District, a certain population is not able to access the unique employment opportunities there. The gap between the rich and poor is the product of complex forces, and won’t be fixed overnight."
    Garrison believes that the D.C. government should attract high-income families. By doing so, the District’s tax base can grow, which in turn can help improve D.C.’s infrastructure. "But in the meantime, the District government should also take into consideration the rights of the poor, set up good schools for them, and provide sound social welfare. All these measures can alleviate the dire situation caused by income disparity."
On which of the following would the author most probably agree?
选项 A、Washington D.C. is subject to the widest income disparity in America.
B、D.C. government should pay more attention to the interests of the needy.
C、The trend that rich families tend to move in D.C. should be curbed.
D、The poorest family should move out of Washington.
答案B
解析 属信息推断题。选项A缺少关键词“among the 40 cities”，原文说在美国的40个城市内，华盛顿的贫富差距是最大的，而不是在整个美国，故选项A错误；选项C利用原文关键词进行干扰，原文虽提到了富有家庭的不断迁人加剧了贫富差距，但并未提到应该限制这一趋势，故选项C不合文意；原文也并没有提及应该让最贫穷的家庭搬出华盛顿地区，故选项D不合文意。根据文章最后一段“特区政府应该重视穷人的权益”判断选项B为正确答案。
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